While trying to hold back his tears and weary soul together, Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon condemned those nameless, faceless ‘terrorists’ who firebombed Monterrey’s Casino Royale that killed at least 53 of his citizens Thursday. However, he was very clear on whom else he blamed – Americans.
Specifically, blaming America’s endless appetite for illegal drugs that provide a premium motivation for drug cartel operations. He also blamed the “criminal sale of weapons” protected by our 2nd amendment right to bear arms – he’s probably wondering if our founding father’s also meant to arm our neighbor’s across the border.
Can you blame the man who is witness to yet another mass killing of his citizens through the very cartel crack down he authored? Many of the victims, women and senior citizens, died when armed men told them to get out of the Casino but instead fearing their guns run further inside the casino that was turned into an inferno.
Calderon like those of us who follow the monthly, weekly, daily and hourly killings related to powerful organized crime groups tend to be numb but every once in awhile you are awaken to the savagery of it all.
Wasn’t it only a year ago this month that 72 Central American bodies were found heaped on top of each other, in Tamaulipas, brutally killed and butchered for their pocket change.
The Obama Administration and the United Nations even went as far as to offer condolences and call for solidarity with Mexico at this time. The 40,000 or so other Mexican’s that have died in the nearly 5-year effort to crack down on the cartels hasn’t garnered the notice nor a call upon others outside of Mexico to shoulder the blame.
Deep down Calderon, like many other Mexican intellects know Mexico is seeing the negative effects of decades of nonexistent social welfare programs, abject poverty and the absence of the one party political rule that through cronyism and fear held it all together. If there are no jobs, no opportunity and no hope you go where there are ample employment opportunities, your local drug dealing organization or the U.S. One option ripe with strife and dead ends and the other no longer an attractive viable option.
While Mexican poets and historians know savagery is part of the country’s legacy, what from the days of the Aztec blood sports to the Mexican Revolution to today’s beheadings and scalpings, blood lust has always been omnipresent. Remember the iconic Father Miguel Hidalgo, the leader of Mexico’s Independence, was in 1811 decapitated and his head put on display for nearly ten years in Guanajuato for all to see with his severed body left to rot in a prison – sounds familiar doesn’t it.
But for today while the Monterrey morgue is full and families are claiming bodies, Mexico doesn’t want to take blame or look at its ugly past and dim future.
Some reports are blaming extortionists for the arson, an expansion business of the drug cartels but only Calderon looks to lay blame at the U.S. feet hoping they can step forward and own more of the solution – the acts of a desperate and blood drenched presidency.
So let’s allow Calderon to blow off steam and blame us for our drug appetite and lax gun laws, at least for today.
Today he cannot lay blame on his own country’s history and people because they are too weary and blood soaked to listen – but hopefully we aren’t.
hs-news.com